


Meet Me (Under the Mistletoe)

by mistilteinn



Series: Nedgene College AU [4]
Category: Buzzfeed The Try Guys (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Mistletoe, That's it, holiday party, that's the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 14:29:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17427671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistilteinn/pseuds/mistilteinn
Summary: It's exactly what you think it is.





	Meet Me (Under the Mistletoe)

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been sitting on this one-shot for a couple weeks now (I originally meant to post it on Christmas eve, oops). It's just a little piece of fluff that I couldn't get out of my head, so here you all go!

Eugene was not a fan of Christmas. Blame it on general grumpiness, blame it on the unpleasant memories from his childhood, blame it on whatever you wanted - Eugene just preferred spookier holidays to family-friendly cheer.

He knew that about himself and Ned knew (and, fortunately, accepted) it about him. Still, he felt duty-bound to turn on the holiday cheer for at least some of the time while staying at Ned’s family home.

Ned had explained to him the importance of the Christmas party multiple times over the long drive  - this was his only indication of how nervous the younger man actually was. Eugene was determined to give him the holiday that he deserved, and that meant he needed to be more festive than normal. Much more festive than normal.

Now it was the day before Christmas Eve, and Eugene was helping Ned decorate the living room to his mother’s specifications. Well. He was _trying_ to help.

Every time he put a new decoration up or straightened some tchotchke, Ned came around behind him and readjusted. It was cute the first time he did it, bringing Eugene back to the first few weeks of lab months before - the weeks of nervously circling, unsure of how to speak to each other.

The second time he did it, Eugene raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Holiday spirit. Holiday spirit. Holiday spirit. This was important to Ned, and Eugene needed to let him take the lead.

After twenty minutes of his hard work being erased, Eugene was barely holding back his irritation. He finished a creative retelling of the nativity scene and turned to pull a wreath from one of the boxes strewn across the floor when he heard the telltale sound of knick-knacks being picked up and set back down.

He spun around, threateningly pointing a squat Santa figurine at Ned, who had frozen in the middle of moving the scene around. “ _Fucking_ stop. You asked me to help decorate, so either let me help, or I’m gonna go find something else to do.”

Ned looked so guilty, it was almost comical, but Eugene held his glare. After a moment, Ned slowly lowered the sheep in his hand. “I-I’m sorry - it’s just… you put baby Jesus on the roof and stuck a literal lamb in the manger? And you put a Hamburgler figure in Joseph’s spot? Where did you even get that? I… Never mind, I don’t care. I know you’re not into ‘the Christmas miracle’ or whatever, but, like, I’m pretty sure you know that’s not right.”

Eugene crossed his arms and frowned. “Nobody’s gonna notice, Ned. What’s wrong with taking a little artistic license?” Ned just looked vaguely distressed, staring at the sheep in his hand. The older man stepped over to him, dropping the ceramic Santa carelessly on the couch. “What’s going on? You’ve been on edge since your mom asked us to do this.”

He placed his hand on the back of Ned’s neck comfortingly. The younger pressed into his hand, sighing softly. “This is the first time I’ve had a significant other at the Christmas party. Our neighbors can be kind of...judgmental. I just - I want things to be perfect. I want you to have a great time. I want them to be nice to my parents. I want… I want everyone to be happy.”

“Hey…” Eugene started softly, tilting his head towards Ned and resting their foreheads together. “Fuck them. Your family is inviting them over - they shouldn’t be criticizing anything. They sound awful.”

Ned looked up at him, eyes wide. A smile bloomed across his face and he started laughing loudly, shouldering Eugene away. “They _are_ kind of assholes.”

Ned’s mother poked her head in from the kitchen. “Are you two done with the living room? I've got five dozen cookies for you to decorate!”

Without a second’s hesitation, Ned took Eugene by the hand and pulled him along. Eugene followed, determined to sneak some of his own artistic sensibilities onto the cookies.

—-

Several hours later, Eugene was nursing a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon (“Since it _is_ a holiday, you boys can each have a glass,” Ned’s father had said solemnly. His mother had pitched in, “but only _one_ glass! Don’t push it!”) and trying not to die of boredom.

He tried to smile at a little girl wearing a red velvet dress, but only managed to bare his teeth. She frowned at him and quickly walked out of his line of vision. He sighed, eyes scanning the room for some sign of Ned.

He heard his boyfriend’s distinctive laugh and excitedly walked through the crowd of people towards him, only to find that he had succeeded in locating his father, who was in the middle of some hilarious anecdote about a mix-up with his lumber order several weeks beforehand.

Eugene held back a despaired sigh and looked around fruitlessly. If he had to listen to one more neighbor contemplate the merits of getting solar panels or dodge one more “yes, but where are you _from?”_ conversation, he was going to scream.

He downed the rest of his glass, determination to make it last forgotten, and made his way to the kitchen, where there were several women oohing and aahing over the appetizers that he and Ned’s mother had made.

He nodded politely to each woman as he edged his way to the far side of the room and slipped through a nondescript doorway.

He found himself in the laundry room, blessedly alone. He leaned heavily on the washing machine, covering his eyes with one hand, and sighed.

Ned’s family was fantastic, truly. They welcomed him without reservation, immediately treating him as another son. There had not been a moment where he felt unwanted since he’d arrived four days prior.

Right now, though, he just wanted some time with his boyfriend. He understood why the younger had been worried - the neighbors _were_ kind of assholes.

He was staring forlornly at the wall, promising himself to go back out there in just another minute, when the door opened.

He jumped, mind racing to try to explain why he was hiding. Ned stuck his head in, exclaimed “Oh, thank god you’re in here too,” and slipped in, shutting the door behind him. “God, this is so much worse than normal! The Faradays got a divorce over the summer and somehow they’re both here?? Unbelievable. Mom and I have been trying to keep Mrs. Faraday from breaking a bottle over Mr. Faraday’s new girlfriend’s head.”

He scooted closer, trying not to knock over any cleaning supplies in the cramped room. Eugene opened his arms, beckoning him in for a hug. As he snuggled, he rested his head on Eugene’s shoulder and sighed, asking “how’s it going for you? I can’t imagine it’s much better.”

Eugene shrugged, feeling rather than seeing Ned smile. “It’s pretty good. Hey, did you know that your neighborhood is entirely populated by white people?”

Ned pulled back a little, arms around Eugene’s waist, and made a face. “Yeah, we’re a pretty pasty bunch here.” He peered up at Eugene, eyes bright. “Has anyone said anything rude to you? Should I go out there and flip a table? Ruin Christmas for everyone?”

Eugene laughed and shook his head before making an exaggerated thinking face. “You know, there _was_ a little girl who mean-mugged me earlier…”

Ned’s grasp on his waist tightened a bit. “Pigtails?” At Eugene’s nod, he shook his head slowly and whispered. “That bitch.”

Eugene burst out laughing, tilting his head back and wrapping his arms comfortably around Ned’s shoulders. _Huh._ Right above them, dangling from a string around the bare light bulb, was a mistletoe.

He looked back down at Ned, who appeared just as surprised as he felt. _“Huh.”_

Eugene smirked. “Well, who am I to flout holiday tradition?” He cut off Ned’s giggle with a kiss, carding his fingers through the too-long hair at the nape of his neck and angling his head back in order to slot their mouths together just right.

He felt Ned sigh softly, then his fingers gripped Eugene’s waist firmly for a moment before he wound his arms all the way around his back.

Eugene pulled back for just a second, meeting the shorter man’s eyes and matching his smile. When their lips touched again, it was slower - deeper than before. Ned’s tongue brushing softly alongside his set sparks alight in his mind’s eye and he slipped a hand from the younger man’s shoulder down to his hip, brushing against the bare skin under his (ugly) sweater.

A playful smile curled about the side of Ned’s mouth and he spoke in a low tone, “Have you ever fucked someone in their childhood bedroom?”

Eugene laughed, a bit startled, and shook his head _no,_ “Uh - guess I’ve never had the opportunity before?”

Ned immediately responded with a cocky expression on his face, “Well, you’re _about to_.” Then he hesitated, wrinkling his brow, “I mean - if you’re, like, into it or whatever. We definitely don’t have to -"

Eugene squeezed his hip to silence him and leaned in once more, feeling more confident with Ned embarrassed. “Oh, I’m into it. I’m _so_ into it.” They were close enough that Eugene could have counted the freckles on Ned’s nose if he wanted to. He decided to kiss him again instead.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I have a couple more ideas for short pieces (and maybe one more longer story) in this series, but in the meantime, please leave a comment if you want me to write a specific Ned/Eugene story. I'd love to hear what people want to read, and I'll try my hardest to do it justice.


End file.
